Chapter 05 ~ Bandits
Fifteen minutes had passed since Fayrouz, the girl with the long black hair and the blue blindfold, had entered the village of Petita. The quiet hustle of its humble market moved around her as she walked with unhurried steps over the dirt-packed earth. Her passage was light, almost silent. The scent of ripe fruit and fresh bread hung in the air, mingling with the earthy smell of penned chickens and fresh meat. Only the scent of fish was conspicuously absent.
A few meters behind her, Fulan walked with quiet steps of his own. The dirt road beneath his feet was smooth, worn flat by years of passing carts and villagers. He cast a fleeting glance at Fayrouz's flowing hair, his thoughts turning inward.
What exactly is this situation? It looks like I'm following her... It's true that this is the only direct path to the other side of the village, but walking right behind her feels somewhat awkward.
He stared at the back of her head, where the blue blindfold was wrapped over her black locks, and thought:
It's fine. I'm not doing anything wrong. She probably doesn't even know I'm here because of that blindfold.
Just as that reassuring thought settled in his mind, Fayrouz spoke without turning, her voice cutting through the market chatter without warning.
"Your name is Fulan, right?"
Fulan sighed, a quiet sound of resignation. "So you knew I was behind you," he murmured to himself. He answered her aloud, his voice calm but tinged with a hint of defensiveness. "It's not like I'm following you or anything."
Fayrouz tilted her head slightly, a few strands of her hair catching the light as she glanced back at him, her voice holding no trace of alarm. "And why would you? Isn't this the shortest way to the gate?"
Her frankness surprised him. Most people in her position might have assumed something suspicious, but she seemed entirely unbothered.
"When I heard you call yourself a future knight," he said, now only a few steps behind her, "I assumed you were heading to Raganda Academy for the entrance exam."
Fayrouz turned her head forward again. "Really? Well, when I heard you were going to Raganda Academy, only one thing came to mind: you will definitely fail the entrance exam."
Fulan's black eyebrows twitched in surprise, though his expression remained neutral. "And what makes you assume that?" he asked.
She replied immediately, her tone cool and matter-of-fact. "The Menma particles that run in your veins." After a beat of silence, she added, "They have no distinct color, just... transparent. It's the first time I've ever seen anything like it. It's as if you have no unique attribute."
Fulan looked down at his own palm, flexing his fingers. To his eyes, his skin looked perfectly normal, just pale flesh, nothing strange.
"I'm surprised you can see Menma particles," he said. "I didn't know there were people in this world who could. Are you from a noble family or something similar?"
Fayrouz walked on in silence for a moment before answering. "I'm just a village girl. Do you think a noble girl would ride in that rickety cart without even having the money to pay for it?"
A short laugh escaped Fulan's lips. "You have a point."
Silence returned between them, but their steps had grown closer. The only thing that broke the quiet was the soft crunch of their boots on the dry earth. After a few more minutes, they arrived at the village gate. Two guards stood at their posts, their uniforms identical to the previous pair. Their spears were held loosely, their stances relaxed, as if nothing dangerous ever happened here.
As Fulan and Fayrouz passed through the gate, one of the guards called out to them, raising a hand. His voice was firm but not aggressive. "Wait. The road between Petita and Saikono village is not safe right now."
Fulan and Fayrouz turned, the open country road stretching out behind them. Fulan spoke, his voice quiet but steady. "We need to pass through today. It's essential."
The guard's expression hardened. "I am advising you for your own good. There is a gang of bandits controlling this road—the Nine Lizards. We have been waiting for the Knights to arrive for some time. You can wait here in the village until the problem is resolved."
It was the same warning, the same advice, but it was just as unacceptable to Fulan and Fayrouz as it had been before.
"I am a future knight," Fayrouz stated, her voice carrying a calm confidence. "Therefore, I will see what I can do about this problem myself."
The two guards exchanged a look of clear disbelief. One of them, a man with a tired face, let out a heavy sigh before he spoke. "A future knight?" He looked her up and down. "All I see is a girl who looks to be sixteen or seventeen. Letting you pass through this gate would be like sending you to your death."
His expression shifted slightly, a hint of pity creeping in. "And you're a girl, after all. Your body would be prey for those bandits. This young man," he gestured to Fulan, "would suffer less, because they would only kill him. But you… you're a girl. You know what I mean."
For the first time in their conversation, a harsh edge entered his voice. It wasn't just concern; it was a cruel, blunt truth.
Fulan's gaze dropped to the ground, his mind flashing with images of what had happened to his people, to the women violated just as the guard was implying. A hard, sharp look settled in his eyes. He ignored the rest of the conversation and simply started walking down the country road.
"Hey, boy!" the guard shouted, trying to warn him again.
As for Fayrouz, she gave the guards one last "look" from behind her blindfold, and then followed Fulan without hesitation, as if the warning had never been uttered at all.
The only sound that remained behind them was the voice of the guard, who ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "I did my duty and warned you! Seriously, why are the youth these days so stubborn?"
The road connecting Petita to Saikono was eerily silent, as if the world itself had stopped to hold its breath. A blanket of clouds veiled the sky, bathing the landscape in a cool, shadowless light. The fields on either side were wild and untamed, a sea of green grass interspersed with patches of hardy flowers. There was no sign of human touch here—no fences, no plowed lands—only nature, reclaiming its dominion where the last of the snow had finally melted.
The only sounds were the distant calls of birds high above and the soft crunch of two pairs of boots on the dirt path. Fulan and Fayrouz walked side-by-side. Half an hour had already passed, yet there was still no sign of Saikono village on the horizon.
"Despite all the negatives," Fayrouz said, her voice calm and even, "this road is perfect for getting robbed."
Fulan glanced at her, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "Hey, isn't getting robbed also a negative?"
Fayrouz tilted her head slightly, her blindfolded gaze turning towards him. "What are you talking about? We came here specifically to be robbed."
"You don't have to phrase it that way…" he muttered. "Anyway, are there really bandits here? I don't see anyone."
"Yes," she replied, her gaze fixed forward once more.
"How can you be so sure?"
Fayrouz fell silent. Her steps remained steady for a few more seconds before she stopped abruptly. The air around her seemed to thicken as a serious expression settled on her lips. Beside her, Fulan tensed, unsure of the reason for her sudden halt. Her eyes remained hidden beneath the blue blindfold, concealing whatever she might be seeing. Then, she whispered, her voice so low it was barely audible:
"They're already here…"
Fulan frowned, his eyes scanning the road and the empty green fields around them. He saw nothing. No movement, no shadows, no signs of life. The stillness was absolute. "What do you mean? I don't see anyone."
Before Fayrouz could answer, nine figures shimmered into existence from nothingness, surrounding them in a tight circle. Their appearance was nothing short of shocking. They didn't just appear; they materialized through a translucent, iridescent haze, like the shimmering, oily surface of a soap bubble. The colors warped and shifted before solidifying into cloaked figures, as if they were lizards that had been granted the power of disappearance.
They wore dark, black cloaks that hid their faces, their heads covered by deep hoods. They were a motley crew of various sizes—some tall and burly, others short and wiry—suggesting a mix of ages and builds. The atmosphere grew tense, their presence a suffocating ring closing in on the two travelers.
Fulan was the first to speak, his body dropping into a subtle fighting stance, his center of gravity lowered. His voice was steady, but it carried a note of disbelief. "They appeared out of thin air? How is that possible?"
The bandits remained silent, their features unseen, their coordinated stance unnervingly deliberate. Fayrouz, however, was unfazed.
"To say they appeared from nothing isn't correct," she said calmly. "They have been around us this whole time. I knew, and I was tracking their Menma while they thought they were hidden."
Fulan turned to her, his eyebrows raised. "You mean they were invisible? A power like that actually exists in this world?"
A faint, mocking smile played on Fayrouz's lips. "It seems to me that you're the one who doesn't know much about this world. Invisibility is a lackluster power, and 99.8% of its users are cowards."
The bandit leader, a tall man of average build, laughed at her words. His face was mostly hidden, but his teeth flashed in a grin. "Your tone is full of confidence for a blind girl," he said, his voice resonating with authority. "But you seem well-informed. Still, this is the only way we can survive in this world. Nobles and the talented will never understand the suffering of those like us, who live only on the margins."
Fulan remained silent, his black eyes darting between the bandits, assessing the situation. Fayrouz, however, calmly addressed the ring of enemies.
"For nine people to have the exact same ability…" she said, her tone clinical. "That is inconceivable. Such a power couldn't exist without a shared bloodline. This means…"
The leader listened quietly, but one of the bandits, a slim figure with a youthful-sounding voice, stepped forward and whispered in the leader's ear. "Big brother, this girl seems smart and talented. She can track and feel Menma particles. Maybe we should try to recruit her instead of anything else."
After a moment of silence, the leader nodded, showing a clear respect for his comrade. "You're right," he said, and pulled back his hood, revealing his face. He had short, dark brown hair and matching brown eyes. He smiled at Fayrouz. "You have a sharp mind, and you sensed us despite that blindfold. Are you really blind, or is that just a fashion statement showing how poor your taste is? Either way, my little brother sees potential in you. How about this? We have a spot to fill in our crew since a girl recently left us. Join us as the tenth member of our group, and we will let your friend here walk safely to Saikono. Not a bad deal, is it?"
The ensuing silence was heavy, the tension palpable as everyone waited for Fayrouz's response. But before she could utter a single word, Fulan took a deep, controlled breath.
His chest rose and fell as he pressed his feet into the earth, readying his move.
[ Sound Instinct Ability Activated - White Tiger ]
Then, in an electrifying instant, he moved.
FWOOSH!
He broke through the air in the single moment they had lowered their guard to make their offer. A faint, white aura clung to his body, dim but undeniable, like the last vestiges of moonlight before dawn. It shimmered around him, neither blinding nor overwhelming, but a clear sign of immense power. His black hair was slicked back by the sheer force of his charge, his right fist clenched tight.
In a single, breathtaking dash, he reached the leader. For a fraction of a second, the leader's eyes widened in pure shock. In their brown depths, Fulan's reflection was that of a raging tiger, his features a mask of cold fury. Huh? was the leader's only thought.
BAASH!!
A single, devastating punch connected with his face, sinking into flesh and bone with a sickening crunch. The leader's body was thrown backward, tumbling end over end across the dirt before he managed to plant his hands on the ground. He looked down, dazed, as blood dripped from his nose onto the earth. Is that… my blood? he wondered. This is bad, I have to stand up. But as he pushed with his legs to rise, his eyes rolled back in his head as if in a trance, and his body collapsed face-first onto the ground, utterly still.
Shock rippled through the remaining bandits. But the surprise had barely settled when Fulan, moving at the speed of sound, moved again. He vanished from his spot, reappearing instantly before the younger brother who had given the advice. A swift kick tore through the air in an upward arc, connecting with the young man's chin and snapping his head back so his gaze was forced to the sky.
Damn it, the young man thought, his vision blurring. What power… what speed… must not pass out… His body went rigid and fell backward like a plank of wood. He was the second one down. The remaining seven bandits scrambled in terror as the fight truly began, a small gasp escaping Fayrouz's lips as she listened and "watched."
One of the nearby bandits drew a dagger from his robe and lunged. He wasn't even given the chance to complete the motion. Fulan's leg was already a blur, his kick connecting with the man's face. The difference in their speed was unnatural.
The bandits began to flicker, their forms dissolving into that iridescent, soap-bubble sheen. Fulan knew that if they all disappeared, the fight would turn against him. He exploded forward, leaping into the air towards one who was already partially invisible. A spinning kick connected with the side of the man's head with impossible speed. The impact sent him crashing to the ground.
His movements were precise, the faint white aura flaring with each explosive action. But he had lost the advantage. He had taken down four, but the other five had vanished into thin air.
Behind her blindfold, Fayrouz's blue eyes widened in astonishment. What is this? His Menma particles turned white? How is that possible? I could have sworn they were colorless!
Fulan, however, was already calculating his next move, his body tense, his eyes scanning the empty space around him. Five of them have vanished without a trace, he thought, his own anxiety rising. I can't dodge attacks from enemies I can't see.
The real battle had only just begun.